Immaculate KP510 Datsun Bluebird Coupe Up Close
August 6, 2009 by Adam Zillin
Filed under Classic JDM Cars, Latest Articles, Odd Spot
I managed to organize a photo shoot with the very tidy KP510 Bluebird coupe I saw in a holding yard a few days ago but things didn’t all go to plan.
Saved from a barn in Kansai
The holding yard is actually Kabushikigaisha Sea Link’s newest branch office, meaning that this beautiful KP510 is ready to be sent to its new owner… somewhere. Upon arriving I was met by a very nice office lady who seemed only to happy to let me peruse the car at my leisure, but any information on the car was strictly confidential and she couldn’t help me. What she could tell me was that the car was “very expensive, almost too expensive for such an old car”. I repeatedly asked how much the car was worth but to no avail. OK, so how about the restoration? Again she was reluctant to say, although this time she sounded more like she genuinely didn’t know for sure what had been done, suffice to say that car had considerable amounts of money spent on it. As it turns out, Google had all the information on this car already, from Right Hand Drive Japan:
This Bluebird has quite a bit of history behind it. Originally from Osaka, Japan, this Bluebird almost saw the end of it’s life had it not been for the previous owner. When the previous owner first picked up the vehicle from the original owner, who had it stored in his barn for 15 years, the paint was in need of replacement, then interior was filthy and the engine bay looked like it hadn’t been opened in decades. The previous owner, who happens to be a retired Mechanical Engineer, repaired every single part of the car to the best of his ability & replaced as many parts as he could, only using OEM Nissan/Datsun parts (minus the A/C). After dedicating 4 years & $10,000 to his hobby, the car went from barn yard garbage to a show room quality classic.
So the car is apparently worth US$21,800 and was saved from certain death by a real Datsun enthusiast. Well if the story about the car’s restoration is true, the previous owner has done very good job although there are one or two things which might make other 510 enthusiasts cringe. More on that later.
Make yourself comfortable... just mind the astro turf
After speaking to the office lady for a few minutes a mechanic came around with the keys and showed me to the car. This is where things started to go down hill! The driver’s side door lock was broken meaning we had to enter the car from the passenger side, but not before the mechanic had to jiggle the key around in the lock about 5 or 6 times. Hmm, not good. Once inside, I asked the mechanic if it was OK if moved the car over to a better location and he replied that the car doesn’t start! That’s right, this restored wonder isn’t a runner. Apparently there’s something wrong with the starter motor and you can see in the photos the mess of wires under the dash were they’ve done a little “trouble shooting”. I was really looking forward to starting it up and maybe even taking it for a drive around Sea Link’s generously sized yard, but in this instance maybe it was for the better.
- Oddly shaped but eye catching exhaust manifold heat shield
Now that I was left with the car I could get a real good look at it. Every inch of the exterior and interior has had some attention, the entire under body has been sprayed black, the exhaust is in very good condition and the engine looks as fresh as can be. It’s evident that a great proportion of this car’s interior has been replaced with original Datsun parts because it looked (and smelled) like it was barely 10 years old, let alone 40. The same can be said for the exterior although Right Hand Drive Japan mentioned the left rear quarter guard was in average condition which, from what I could see, didn’t look bad at all. The previous owner even left a miniature model 510 coupe on the dashboard! It was a really nicely detailed model too, a great little gift for the next owner if it manages to go unnoticed throughout the journey to its new home.
Buy this $20K 1/64 scale 510 Bluebird, get a 1:1 scale version for free
All in all, if you were in the market for a 510 Bluebird coupe and had the $20K burning a hole in your pocket, this car would be hard to ignore as all the hard work has been done. I really don’t think this is the type of 510 that deserves a SR20DET conversion though! The one or two cringe-worthy aspects center around the strange “astro turf” style carpet covering the floor and the almost haphazardly positioned tachometer on top of the dashboard. These two things alone stood out in what is an otherwise very tasteful and well executed restoration. It’s just as well that the two things that have a negative impact on the car can be easily changed or removed.
So there you have it, a well restored 510 coupe with a lot of history is on its way to a new home. I wonder how long it’ll be before the astro turf finds its way into a dumpster somehwere?
Words/Images: Justin Karow
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